Seeing how the text of Luke 23:34 has been called into question by Christian apologists who pass themselves off as scholars, especially in respect to the text and transmission of the NT, I have decided to quote noted NT scholar Dr. Bart D. Ehrman’s defense of the textual veracity of this Lukan passage. What makes this rather interesting is that Ehrman is a hostile critic of Christianity, particularly evangelical Christianity, which makes his defense of the authenticity of Luke 23:34 all the more ironic seeing that you have so-called conservative Christian scholars and apologists calling the text’s veracity into question.

Here is how Luke 23:34 reads in the Authorized King James Version (AV):

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

According to some evangelical and reformed apologists, this prayer of Jesus may actually be inauthentic since they claim that the manuscript evidence strongly suggests that this is a verse which a later scribe (or scribes) may have inserted into the Gospel. As such, it is highly unlikely that Luke wrote these words by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

In light of this assertion I have decided to quote the following portion from Ehrman’s book, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why [HarperOne, 2005], 7. The Social Worlds of the Text, pp. 190-193, since he does an excellent job of refuting these arguments.

Anti-Jewish Alterations of the Text

The anti-Jewishness of some second- and third-century Christian scribes played a role in how the texts of scripture were transmitted. One of the clearest is found in Luke’s account of the crucifixion, in which Jesus is said to have uttered a prayer for those responsible:

And when they came to the place that is called “The Skull,” they crucified him there, along with criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:33-34)

As it turns out, however, this prayer of Jesus cannot be found in all our manuscripts; it is missing from our earliest Greek witness (a papyrus called P75, which dates to about 200 C.E.) and several other high-quality witnesses of the fourth and later centuries; at the same time, the prayer can be found in Codex Sinaiticus and a large range of manuscripts, including most of those produced in the Middle Ages. And so the question is, Did a scribe (or a number of scribes) delete the prayer from a manuscript that originally included it? Or did a scribe (or scribes) add it to a manuscript that originally lacked it?

Scholarly opinion has long been divided on the question. Because the prayer is missing from several early and high-quality witnesses, there has been no shortage of scholars to claim that it did not originally belong to the text. Sometimes they appeal to an argument based on internal evidence. As I have pointed out, the author of the Gospel of Luke also produced the Acts of the Apostles, and a passage similar to this one can be found in Acts in the account of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, the only person whose execution is described at any length in Acts. Because Stephen was charged with blasphemy, he was stoned to death by a crowd of angry Jews; and before he expired he prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60).

Some scholars have argued that a scribe who did not want Jesus to look any less forgiving than his first martyr, Stephen, added the prayer to Luke’s Gospel, so that Jesus also asks that his executioners be forgiven. This is a clever argument, but it is not altogether convincing, for several reasons. The most compelling is this: whenever scribes try to bring texts into harmony with each other, they tend to do so by repeating the same words in both passages. In this case, however, we do not find identical wording, merely a similar kind of prayer. This is not the kind of “harmonization” that scribes typically make.

Also striking in conjunction with this point is that Luke, the author himself, on a number of occasions goes out of his way to show the similarities between what happened to Jesus in the Gospel and what happened to his followers in Acts: both Jesus and his followers are baptized, they both receive the Spirit at that point, they both proclaim the good news, they both come to be rejected for it, they both suffer at the hands of the Jewish leadership, and so on. What happens to Jesus in the Gospel happens to his followers in Acts. And so it would be no surprise–but rather expected–that one of Jesus’ followers, who like him is executed by angry authorities, should also pray that God forgive his executioners.

There are other reasons for suspecting that Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness is original to Luke 23. Throughout both Luke and Acts, for example, it is emphasized that even though Jesus was innocent (as were his followers), those who acted against him did so in ignorance. As Peter says in Acts 3: “I know that you acted in ignorance” (v. 17); or as Paul says in Acts 17: “God has overlooked the times of ignorance” (v. 27). And that is precisely the note struck in Jesus’ prayer: “for they don’t know what they are doing.”

It appears, then, that Luke 23:34 was part of Luke’s original text. Why, though, would a scribe (or a number of scribes) have wanted to delete it? Here is where understanding something about the historical context within which scribes were working becomes crucial. Readers today may wonder for whom Jesus is praying. Is it for the Romans who are executing him in ignorance? Or is it for the Jews who are responsible for turning him over to the Romans in the first place? However we might answer that question in trying to interpret the passage today, it is clear how it was interpreted in the early church. In almost every instance in which the prayer is discussed in the writings of the church fathers, it is clear that they interpreted the prayer as being uttered not on behalf of the Romans but on behalf of the Jews.10 Jesus was asking God to forgive the Jewish people (or the Jewish leaders) who were responsible for his death.

Now it becomes clear why some scribes would have wanted to omit the verse. Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of the Jews? How could that be? For early Christians there were, in fact, two problems with the verse, taken in this way. First, they reasoned, why would Jesus pray for forgiveness for this recalcitrant people who had willfully rejected God himself? That was scarcely conceivable to many Christians. Even more telling, by the second century many Christians were convinced that God had not forgiven the Jews because, as mentioned earlier, they believed that he had allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed as a punishment for the Jews in killing Jesus. As the church father Origen said: “It was right that the city in which Jesus underwent such sufferings should be completely destroyed, and that the Jewish nation be overthrown” (Against Celsus, 4, 22).11

The Jews knew full well what they were doing, and God obviously had not forgiven them. From this point of view, it made little sense for Jesus to ask for forgiveness for them, when no forgiveness was forthcoming. What were scribes to do with this text, then, in which Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing?” They dealt with the problem simply by excising the text, so that Jesus no longer asked that they be forgiven.

Here is how John 1:18 reads in the Authorized King James Version (AV) of the Holy Bible:

“No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son (ho monogenes hyios), which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

However, many of the modern English versions go with a different reading, one that is found in the two oldest extant papyri which contain John 1:18:

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God (monogenes theos) and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” New International Version (NIV)

In this post I will reproduce renowned Bible critic and NT textual scholar Bart D. Ehrman’s lengthy discussion of these two variants since he does a superb job of highlighting the fact that the evidence overwhelmingly supports the reading of the AV. The following somewhat lengthy excerpt is taken from Ehrman’s book The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament [Oxford University Press, Inc., 1993], 2. Anti-Adoptionistic Corruptions of Scripture, pp. 78-82. All bold emphasis will be mine.

Christ, Designated as God: John 1:18

A comparable corruption appears in the prologue of the Fourth Gospel, although here the issues are far more complicated and have generated substantially more debate and indecision. I will not give an exhaustive study of all the issues surrounding the text of John 1:18; these are competently handled in the commentaries and in several recent studies.157 I will instead develop my reasons for thinking that the majority of manuscripts are right in ending the prologue with the words: “No one has seen God at any time, but the unique Son (ho monogenes hyios) who is in the bosom of the Father, that one has made him known.” The variant reading of the Alexandrian tradition, which substitutes “God” for “Son,” represents an orthodox corruption of the text in which the complete deity of Christ is affirmed: “the unique God [(ho) monogenes theos] who is in the bosom of the Father, that one has made him known.”158

External Evidence

It must be acknowledged at the outset that the Alexandrian reading is more commonly preferred by textual critics, in no small measure because of its external support. Not only is it the reading of the great Alexandrian uncials (א B C), it is also attested by the earliest available witnesses, the Bodmer papyri p66, and p75, discovered in the middle of the present century. It would be a mistake, however, to consider this external evidence compelling in itself. For in actual fact, contrary to widely held opinion,159 the discovery of the early papyri has done very little (in this instance) to change the character of the documentary alignments. This is due to the peculiar character of the verse’s attestation: even before the discovery of the papyri, scholars realized that the bulk of the Alexandrian tradition attested the reading, including witnesses that date back to the beginning of the third century.160 This means that we already knew that it must have been preserved in early Greek manuscripts of Alexandria-even before we had access to any of them. The chance discovery of two such witnesses has consequently done nothing to change the picture, but has simply demonstrated that our theories about transmission are essentially correct.161

Here it must be emphasized that outside of the Alexandrian tradition, the reading monogenes theos has not fared well at all. Virtually every other representative of every other textual grouping-Western, Caesarean, Byzantine-attests ho monogenes hyios. And the reading even occurs in several of the secondary Alexandrian witnesses (e.g., C3 ψ 892 1241 Ath Alex.). This is not simply a case of one reading supported by the earliest and best manuscripts and another supported by late and inferior ones, but of one reading almost exclusively in the Alexandrian tradition and another found sporadically there and virtually everywhere else. And although the witnesses supporting ho monogenes hyios cannot individually match the antiquity of the Alexandrian papyri, there can be little doubt that this reading must also be dated at least to the time of their production. There is virtually no other way to explain its predominance in the Greek, Latin, and Syriac traditions, not to mention its occurrence in fathers such as Irenaeus, Clement, and Tertullian, who were writing before our earliest surviving manuscripts were produced.162 Thus, both readings are ancient; one is fairly localized, the other is almost ubiquitous. This in itself does not demonstrate that ho monogenes hyios is original, but it does show the error of automatically accepting the external attestation of the Alexandrian reading as superior.

Intrinsic Probabilities

It is on internal grounds that the real superiority of ho monogenes hyios shines forth. Not only does it conform with established Johannine usage, a point its opponents readily concede, but the Alexandrian variant, although perfectly amenable to scribes for theological reasons, is virtually impossible to understand within a Johannine context. As we shall see, these points are best treated in conjunction with the one another rather than independently, for here again arguments of transcriptional and intrinsic probabilities make a rather formidable coalition.

I begin with the question of intrinsic plausibility. One of the insurmountable difficulties of accepting the Alexandrian reading as original involves ascertaining what it might mean for a first-century document to say that Jesus is “the unique God” ([ho] monogenes theos). The problem exists whether or not one chooses to read the definite article-although if external support is considered decisive, the article is probably to be preferred.163 If so, then the problem of translation is simply made more acute, not created, since in some sense the meaning of monogenes itself embodies the notion of exclusivity conveyed by the use of the article. By definition there can be only one monogenes; the word means “unique,” “one of a kind.”164 The problem, of course, is that Jesus can be the unique God only if there is no other God; but for the Fourth Gospel, the Father is God as well. Indeed, even in this passage the monogenes is said to reside in the bosom of the Father. How can the monogenes theos, the unique God, stand in such a relationship to (another) God?165

The problem is avoided, of course, with the reading that is more widely attested. Not only does this reading avoid the contradiction implied by the other, however, it also coincides perfectly well with the way monogenes is used throughout the Johannine literature. In three other Johannine passages monogenes serves as a modifier, and on each occasion it is used with hyios (John 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). Proponents of the Alexandrian reading, of course, have often turned this argument on its head by claiming that scribes already conversant with Johannine usage disposed of the more difficult phrase ho mongenes theos by conforming it to the standard expression. This is certainly a possibility; but in fact, the phrase that proves difficult for John was not a problem for Christians in the second century and beyond, who, with their increasingly paradoxical understandings of Christology, could conceive of ways for Christ to be the unique God himself.166 It would be a mistake, however, to read these sophisticated forms of Christology back into the pages of the Fourth Gospel, where Jesus is on par with God (see John 10:30, 33), and so can be addressed as God (20:28, perhaps 1:1), but is never identified as “the one and only God” himself.167 One is left, then, with the problem of how to understand [ho] monogenes theos in the Johannine world if it were accepted as original.

Scholars who prefer the reading generally escape the difficulty by proposing alternative ways of construing its meaning or syntax. One common expedient involves claiming that monogenes itself connotes the idea of “sonship,” so that the word hyios is to be understood even when it is not expressed.168 In this case, the conflate reading found elsewhere in the tradition (ho monogenes hyios, theos), although corrupt in wording, is correct in meaning: the Alexandrian text (ho monogenes theos) should then be understood to mean “the unique Son who is God.”

The difficulty with this view is that there is nothing about the word monogenes itself that suggests it. Outside of the New Testament the term simply means “one of a kind” or “unique,” and does so with reference to any range of animate or inanimate objects.169 Therefore, recourse must be made to its usage within the New Testament. Here proponents of the view argue that in situ the word implies “sonship,” for it always occurs (in the New Testament) either in explicit conjunction with hyios or in a context where a hyios is named and then described as monogenes (Luke 9:38, John 1:14, Heb 11:17). Nonetheless, as suggestive as the argument may appear, it contains the seeds of its own refutation: if the word monogenes is understood to mean “a unique son,” one wonders why it is typically put in attribution to hyios, an attribution then creates an unusual kind of redundancy (“the unique-son son”). Given the fact that neither the etymology of the word nor its general usage suggests any such meaning, this solution seems to involve a case of special pleading.

The more common expedient for those who opt for [ho] monogenes theos, but who recognize that its rendering as “the unique God” is virtually impossible in a Johannine context, is to understand the adjective substantivally, and to construe the entire second half of John 1:18 as a series of appositions, so that rather than reading, “the unique God who is in the bosom of the Father,” the text should be rendered “the unique one, who is also God, who is in the bosom of the Father.”170 There is something attractive about the proposal. It explains what the text might have meant to a Johannine reader and thereby allows for the text of the generally superior textual witnesses. Nonetheless, the solution is entirely implausible.

For one thing, it posits that the “natural” meaning of the Johannine text was not understood by a number of scribes who found it so peculiar that they sought to modify it to establish Johannine usage. How is it that modern critics of the German- and English-speaking worlds can make ready sense of a passage that seems to have struck Greek-speaking scribes as so perplexing? Moreover, a moment’s reflection shows that the proposed construal is not at all the most natural. It is true that monogenes can elsewhere be used as a substantive (= the unique one, as in v. 14); all adjectives can. But the proponents of this view have failed to consider that it is never used in this way when it is immediately followed by a noun that agrees with it in gender, number, and case. Indeed one must here press the syntactical point: when is an adjective ever used substantivally when it immediately precedes a noun of the same inflection? No Greek reader would construe such a construction as a string of substantives, and no Greek writer would create such an inconcinnity. To the best of my knowledge, no one has cited anything analogous outside of this passage.

The result is that taking the term monogenes theos as two substantives standing in apposition makes for a nearly impossible syntax, whereas construing their relationship as adjective-noun creates an impossible sense. Given the fact that the established usage of the Johannine literature is known beyond a shadow of a doubt, there seems little reason any longer to dispute the reading found in virtually every witness outside the Alexandrian tradition.171 The prologue ends with the statement that “the unique Son who is in the bosom of the Father, that one has made him known.”

Transcriptional Probabilities

Why then was the text changed? It is striking that Christ as the Logos is called “God” in verse 1 of the prologue and that the burden of the passage is that this pre-existent divine being has become flesh. The word theos itself occurs seven times in the passage, the word hyios never. It may be that the context has decided the issue for the scribes, who conformed the passage to the terminology ad loc. But one must still ask what would have motivated them to do so. Here the character of our witnesses cannot be overlooked. In the early period, when the reading was beginning to establish itself in the Alexandrian tradition, it is found not only in Greek manuscripts, but also among a variety of Alexandrian writers, both orthodox and Gnostic. The presence of the reading in authors of a wide range of theological persuasion has actually served to throw investigators off the scent of its genesis; for it has been assumed that if both orthodox and Gnostic writers attest the text, it must have not been generated out of theological concerns. But the key point to register is that all those who support the text attest a “high” Christology: Alexandrians from Clement and Origen to Ptolemy and Heracleon could all affirm that the monogenes was God. The solution to the problem of the origin of the variant lies not in the orthodox-Gnostic controversy, but in that of both the orthodox and Gnostic Christians against the adoptionists.172 The variant was created to support a high Christology in the face of widespread claims, found among adoptionists recognized and opposed in Alexandria,173 that Christ was not God but merely a man, adopted by God. For the scribe who created this variant, Christ is not merely portrayed as the “unique Son.” He himself is God, the “unique God,” who is to be differentiated from God the Father, in whose bosom he resides, but who nonetheless is his co-equal.174 The Alexandrian reading derives from an anti-adoptionistic context, and therefore represents an orthodox corruption.175

163. Among all the witnesses, p75 is generally understood to be the strongest; p66, which supports the shorter text, is notoriously unreliable when it comes to articles and other short words, so that the omission here simply corroborates what one finds elsewhere throughout the manuscript. Thus Colwell, “Method in Evaluating Scribal Habits.” See further, pp. 265-66…

165. This cannot be construed as meaning that the reading is more likely original because it is “difficult.” In fact, it was not difficult for scribes, who embraced it as a useful statement of Christ’s full deity. See notes 172 and 173…

171. A final argument has occasionally been adduced in support of monogenes theos, namely, that the literary structure of the prologue more or less requires the reading, because the three statements of the opening verse are paralleled, in inverse order, by the final verse. Thus “the Word” (v. 1) is echoed by “that one has made him known” (v. 18; both relating to Christ’s revelatory function); “was with God” by “in the bosom of the Father” (both explaining his relation to the Father); and “was God” by “the unique God” (both affirming his divine character). This is an interesting argument, but one that fails to persuade me–not because the parallels do not in fact exist, but because of the way they are effected. In neither of the first two instances are the statements of verse 1 actually repeated in verse 18. As there is no reason to think that the author has changed his style with regard to the final element, the reader should expect an equivalent term, not a repetition. And that is precisely what one does find in the phrase ho monogenes hyios, a phrase that affirms Christ’s unique divine character, without stating that he is the one and only God himself (which not even v. 1 asserts, because theos lacks the article).

172. McReynolds (“John 1:18,” 115) chides M.-E Boismard (St. John’s Prologue, 65) for drawing this conclusion, but misses the point when he argues that the Gnostics would have been particularly inclined to the text. Naturally they would have been, but they are not the ones the reading functions to oppose. It is also pointless to argue that the more commonly attested reading does not fit well into an anti-Arian context (cf. Brown, The Gospel According to John, 17); clearly both readings were well worn before Arius arrived on the scene.

173. Compare Origen, Dialogue with Heraclides, 128, which condemns the “blasphemous doctrine which denies the deity of Chrst,” as well as Hom. In Luke, 17, and in Epistula ad Titum, which speaks of the Ebionites who say that Christ was born of a man and woman like everyone else, and was, as a consequence, only human…

175. Why was this the only occurrence of ho monogenes hyios to be changed in the textual tradition of the Fourth Gospel? The answer may lie in the central position it occupies within the prologue, setting the stage for the Christology of the rest of the Gospel. (Ibid., pp. 112-113)

Here is what Ehrman writes elsewhere:

We will conclude this part of the discussion by looking at one other such change. Like 1 Tim. 3:16, this one involves a text in which a scribe has made an alteration to affirm in very strong terms that Jesus is to be understood completely as God. The text occurs in the Gospel of John, a Gospel that more than any of the others that made it into the New Testament already goes a long way toward identifying Jesus himself as divine (see, e.g., John 8:58; 10:30; 20:28). This identification is made in a particularly striking way in a passage in which the original text is hotly disputed.

The first eighteen verses of John are sometimes called its Prologue. Here is where John speaks of the “Word of God” who was “in the beginning with God” and who “was God” (vv. 1-3). This Word of God made all things exist. Moreover, it is God’s mode of communication to the world; the Word is how God manifests himself to others. And we are told that at one point the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In other words, God’s own Word became a human being (v. 14). This human being was “Jesus Christ” (v. 17). According to this understanding of things, then, Jesus Christ represents the “incarnation” of God’s own Word, who was with God in the beginning and was himself God, through whom God made all things.

The Prologue then ends with some striking words, which come in two variant forms: “No one has seen God at any time, but the unique Son/the unique God who is in the bosom of the Father, that one has made him known” (v. 18).

The textual problem has to do with the identification of this “unique” one. Is he to be identified as the “unique God in the bosom of the Father” or as the “unique Son in the bosom of the Father”? It must be acknowledged that the first reading is the one found in the manuscripts that are the oldest and generally considered to be the best–those of the Alexandrian textual family. But it is striking that it is rarely found in manuscripts not associated with Alexandria. Could it be a textual variant created by a scribe in Alexandria and popularized there? If so, that would explain why the vast majority of manuscripts from everywhere else have the other reading, in which Jesus is not called the unique God, but the unique Son.

There are other reasons for thinking that the latter reading is, in fact, the correct one. The Gospel of John uses this phrase “the unique Son” (sometimes mistranslated as “only begotten Son”) on several other occasions (see John 3:16, 18); nowhere else does it speak of Christ as the “unique God.” Moreover, what would it mean to call Christ that? The term unique in Greek means “one of a kind.” There can be only one who is one of a kind. The term unique God must refer to God the Father himself–otherwise he is not unique. But if the term refers to the Father, how can it be used of the Son? Given the fact that the more common (and understandable) phrase in the Gospel of John is “the unique Son,” it appears that that was the text originally written in John 1:18. This itself is still a highly exalted view of Christ–he is the “unique Son who is in the bosom of the Father.” And he is the one who explains God to everyone else.

It appears, though, that some scribes–probably located in Alexandria–were not content even with this exalted view of Christ, and so they made it even more exalted, by transforming the text. Now Christ is not merely God’s unique Son, he is the unique God himself! This too, then, appears to be an antiadoptionistic change of the text made by proto-orthodox scribes of the second century. (Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why [HarperOne, 2005], 6. Theologically Motivated Alterations of the Text, pp. 161-162; bold emphasis ours)

Further Reading

In the following article, “The Text and Grammar of John 1:18” (https://bible.org/article/text-and-grammar-john-118), Noted Evangelical New Testament (NT) scholar Dr. Daniel B. Wallace has attempted to refute Ehrman’s claim that there is no example from the NT where an adjective that immediately precedes a noun of the same inflection is used substantivally.

However, in a post titled “Bart D. Ehrman, Daniel B. Wallace, and the Syntax and Meaning of John 1:18” (http://elihubooks.blogspot.com/2011/11/bart-d-ehrman-daniel-b-wallace-and.html), leading Arian and anti-Trinitarian apologist Gregory Stafford has responded to Wallace’s blogpost. Stafford has shown that none of the examples cited by Wallace meet Ehrman’s challenge to show an adjective used substantivally when it immediately precedes a noun of the same inflection. Therefore, Ehrman’s point still stands since nothing that Wallace cited refutes Ehrman’s actual objection. Yet this doesn’t mean that Stafford’s arguments which he offers in defense of his post-biblical, heretical Arian beliefs are correct. All this means is that Wallace’s reply is simply wrong since it fails to adequately refute Ehrman’s objection.

My view is that a Bible translation should not be driven by a theological view of the text but by the science of philology, and that translating the Bible is in principle no different from translating Homer, Plato, Epictetus, or Ignatius of Antioch. The translation should be made with an eye of communicating in the new language the words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs of the original language, as readably, but also as accurately, as possible. I think the NRSV does this better than most, if not all, the other translations.

In light of this assertion we have decided to quote from this particular English version to show that the very translation that Ehrman recommends and favors above all others explicitly testifies to the eternal and essential Deity of the Lord Jesus.

According to the God-breathed Scriptures, Christ is the eternal Son and Word of the Father, being the One that God appointed to create and sustain the entire creation, since he is the Source/Author of life from whom the light of salvation originates:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people… The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him… And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son (hos monogenous para patros), full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son (monogenes Theos), who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14, 18

“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” Acts 3:13-15

Shockingly, Jesus is described in the same manner in which the Psalmist depicts Yahweh:

“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9

Christ is further said to have created all things for himself:

“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him AND FOR HIM. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” Colossians 1:13-20

And yet the Hebrew Bible clearly teaches that Yahweh alone created all things, and did so for himself, for his own glory, and not for anyone else!

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up,’ and to the south, ‘Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, whom I created FOR MY GLORY, whom I formed and made… The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whomI formed FOR MYSELF so that they might declare my praise.” Isaiah 43:6-7, 20-21

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who made all things, who ALONE stretched out the heavens, who by MYSELFspread out the earth;” Isaiah 44:24

No wonder the blessed Apostle could say that Christ possesses the divine essence in all its perfection in human form:

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” Colossians 2:9

Paul realized that the only way that Christ could be said to be the Creator and Sustainer who made all things for himself is if he is truly God in an absolute and eternal sense.

The book of Hebrews goes even further by taking the following Psalm, which describes Yahweh God as the unchanging Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos,

“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you… But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations… Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away; but you are the same, and your years have no end.” Psalm 102:1, 12, 25-27

And applying it to the Person of the Son, thereby identifying Jesus as Yahweh God in the flesh!

“Of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.’ But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God (ho Theos), is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.’ And, ‘In the beginning, Lord [the Son], you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.” Hebrews 1:7-12

In fact, Jesus is depicted in the same way that the prophet Nehemiah describes Yahweh,

“And Ezra said: ‘You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you.’” Nehemiah 9:6

Now compare this with what Hebrews says:

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Hebrews 1:1-3, 6

Christ is the Creator who gives life to all creation and the One whom all the heavenly host worship.

This brings me to my next point. Jesus is given the exact same worship that the OT ascribes to Yahweh God Almighty.

For instance, like Yahweh,

“Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed, you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.” Psalm 65:1-2

Jesus is the hearer of prayers, being the One who can hear all the invocations of his servants and possesses the ability to do all that his followers ask of him:

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I WILL DO whatever you ask IN MY NAME, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask ME for anything, I WILL DO IT.” John 14:12-14

“and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7

Jesus receives the spirits of human beings at death and forgives sinners from heaven:

“But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’… While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.” Acts 7:55-56, 59-60

And much like OT believers did in regards to their worship of Yahweh,

“Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.” Psalm 99:5-7

“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’… I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord… I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord.” Psalm 116:1-4, 13, 17

Jesus’ followers would call upon the name of their risen Lord both individually and corporately:

“But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to YOUR saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke YOUR name.’… and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked THIS NAME? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’” Acts 9:13-14, 20-21

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:” 1 Corinthians 1:2

That’s not all. Jesus referred to himself as the very Son of Man,

“Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am; and “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,” and “coming with the clouds of heaven.”’” Mark 14:61b-62

Whom the prophet Daniel saw riding the clouds, and whom all the nations are required to serve and worship as he rules over them forever and ever:

“As I watched in the night visions, I saw one likea human being [a] coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One[b] and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

a. Daniel 7:13 Aram one like a son of man

b. Daniel 7:13 Aram the Ancient of Days

As this weren’t amazing enough, the Lord Jesus even took to himself God’s very own name which he had revealed to Moses at the burning bush:

“But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.”’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.’” Exodus 3:13-15

Exodus 3:14 Or I am what I am or I will be what I will be
Exodus 3:15 The word “Lord” when spelled with capital letters stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, “to be”

Now compare this with the words of the Lord:

“‘Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” John 8:56-59 – cf. 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28; 13:19; 18:5-6, 8

In light of the foregoing it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Jesus is said to be the Mighty God,

“But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined… For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7

The Apostle Thomas’ Lord and God,

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called The Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail prints in His hands, and put my finger in the nail prints, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe.’ After eight days His disciples were again inside with the doors shut, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Put your hand here and place it in My side. Do not be faithless, but believing.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho Kyrios mou kai ho Theos mou)!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have yet believed.’ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:24-31

In fact, the great God and Savior of all believers,

“while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” Titus 2:13-14

“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” 2 Peter 1:1

As well as the true God and eternal life,

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. HE is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20

Who reigns supreme over all creation as the God who is to be eternally praised:

“to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 9:5

Hence, the very translation preferred by Ehrman confirms that Jesus is God Almighty in the flesh!

Hence, the very translation preferred by Ehrman confirms that Jesus is God Almighty in the flesh!

In this article we are going to show how this comparison between Adam and Jesus actually backfires against Islam. We will demonstrate that the Quran’s argument ends up proving that Jesus is a king who is worthy of divine worship.

To start off with, the Muslim scripture states that Allah created Adam to be his vicegerent or vice-regent who would rule the earth on behalf of Allah. It also says that Allah ordered all the angels to worship Adam due to the fact of his having been created by Allah’s own hands and made alive by Allah’s own spirit:

When thy Lord said to the angels, “Verily, I am about to place one in my stead on earth,” they said, “Wilt thou place there one who will do ill therein and shed blood, when we celebrate thy praise and extol thy holiness?” God said, “Verily, I know what ye know not.” And he taught Adam the names of all things, and then set them before the angels, and said, “Tell me the names of these, if ye are endued with wisdom.” They said, “Praise be to Thee! We have no knowledge but what Thou hast given us to know. Thou! Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.” He said, “O Adam, inform them of their names.” And when he had informed them of their names, He said, “Did I not say to you that I know the hidden things of the Heavens and of the Earth, and that I know what ye bring to light, and what ye hide?” And when we said to the angels, “Bow down and worship Adam,” then worshipped they all, save Eblis. He refused and swelled with pride, and became one of the unbelievers. S. 2:30-34 Rodwell

When thy Lord said unto the angels, verily I am about to create man of clay: When I shall have formed him, therefore, and shall have breathed my spirit into him, do ye fall down and worship him. And all the angels worshipped [him], in general; except Eblis, [who] was puffed up with pride, and became an unbeliever. [God] said [unto him], O Eblis, what hindreth thee from worshipping that which I have created with my hands? Art thou elated with vain pride? Or art thou [really] one of exalted merit? He answered, I am more excellent than he: Thou hast created me of fire, and hast created him of clay. S. 38:71-76 Sale

Moreover, the so-called authentic hadiths state that Adam was created in the very image and shape of Allah:

Likewise, we affirm that, “Allah created Adam in His image.”21 This hadith was collected by Ahmad bin Hanbal and others.

21 Collected by Ahmad in, Musnad Abu Hurairah, 14/45, hadith 8291, by al-Bukhari in, Kitab al-Isti’than, 4/135, hadith number 6227, Abdullah bin Ahmad said, “It was written in the books of my father (Ahmad bin Hanbal), ‘And his height was 60 cubits’, but I am not sure if he narrated it to us or not.” This addition is also found in al-Bukhari’s Sahih.

Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Tayimiyyah said, “There was no dispute among the Salaf in the first three generations that the pronoun is referenced to Allah as has been elaborated in many different ways from the Sahabah, and the context of all the ahadith point to that.” (Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyyah, Ibn Taymiyyah, with verification by Dr. ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Yahya, 2/356) Ahl as-Sunnah affirm Allah’s attribute of having an Image and believe in it; they profess that it should be accepted as is, without denying, altering or describing it, and without likening it to His creation. Al-Aajurri said, after narrating the hadith of the image, “This is from the traditions that Muslims are obligated to believe in, without saying, how, or why. Rather, it is accepted with submission and belief that it is true, and by refraining from trying to explain it, as has been said by the Muslim Imams who passed.” (Ash-Shari’ah, by al-Aajurri, 2/106)

Imam Ahmad spoke on this topic and said about the hadith of the image, “We accept the hadith as is [without explaining its essence].” Because of that, Imam Ahmad used to rebuke those who interpret the hadith of the Image and who ascribe the pronoun to other than Allah. He said in the narration of Abu Talib, “Whoever says that Allah created Adam in Adam’s shape is a Jahmi, because what shape did Adam have before he was created?” (Ibtal at-Ta’wilat, 1/75). This is a warning from Imam Ahmad, that whoever interprets the pronoun to be other than referring to Allah will have followed the path of the Jahmiyyah. Ibn Qutaibah said, “As I see it, and Allah knows best, is that to have an image is not stranger than having two hands, fingers and eyes, but these attributes are familiar because they were mentioned in the Qur’an, unlike the image which is unfamiliar because it was not mentioned in the Qur’an [but only mentioned in the ahadith]. However, we believe in both [types of report], we do not ascribe any specific essence or resemblance to these attribute[sic].” (Ta’wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith, pg. 261)

Ibn Hajar said in, al-Fat-h, 5/183, “Al-Maziri and those who followed him have rejected the authenticity of this addition, meaning, ‘On the image of ar-Rahman’; since what has been established in most of the hadith‘s chains of transmission is, ‘Allah created Adam in His shape.’, Then he said, ‘If it is authentic, then it is taken in a way that befits Allah’s majesty.”

[Ibn Hajar continued by saying], “I say: the addition was collected by Ibn Abi ‘Asim in, as-Sunnah, as well as at-Tabarani, with a chain of narration leading through Ibn ‘Umar, and the narrators are all trustworthy. Ibn Abi ‘Asim also collected it using the chain of narration passing through Abu Yunus from Abu Hurairah, with a wording which refutes al-Maziri’s opinion [that the word, ‘Ar-Rahman’ is not established in the hadith]. It says, ‘Whoever fights should avoid [hitting] the face, because man’s image in ar-Rahman’s image.’ Is-haq al-Kawsaj said, “I heard Ahmad say, ‘This hadith is authentic.’ [My father said], ‘Such a person has lied, and this is the exact statement that the Jahmiyyah said.’” (al-Fat-h, 5/183)

23 He is the Imam, the hadith scholar, the jurist, the Mufti, the Shaikh of ‘Iraq, Abu Bakr, Ahmad bin Salman bin alHasan bin Isra’il al-Baghdadi al-Hanbali an-Najjad. He was born in 253 Hijri and died in the year 348 Hijri. Refer to, as-Siyar, 15/502, and Mukhtasar as-Siyar, 2/125, number 3158.

24 He is the Imam, the role model, the worshipper of Allah, the hadith scholar, the Shaikh of ‘Iraq, Abu Abdullah, ‘Ubaidullah bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Hamdan al-‘Akbari al-Hanbali, also known as, Ibn Battah. He died the year 387 Hijri. Refer to, Siyaru A’lam an-Nubalaa, 16/529, number 389. (Ibid., pp. 21-23)

It is apparent that this story of Allah commanding his angelic creatures to worship Adam, with Satan refusing to do so, is taken from non-canonical, uninspired Jewish and Christian sources, such as the apocryphal work known as The Life of Adam and Eve:

And with a heavy sigh, the devil spake: ‘O Adam! all my hostility, envy, and sorrow is for thee, since it is for thee that I have been expelled from my glory, which I possessed in the heavens in the midst of the angels and for thee was I cast out in the earth.’ Adam answered, ‘What dost thou tell me? What have I done to thee or what is my fault against thee? Seeing that thou hast received no harm or injury from us, why dost thou pursue us?’ The devil replied, ‘Adam, what dost thou tell me? It is for thy sake that I have been hurled from that place. When thou wast formed. I was hurled out of the presence of God and banished from the company of the angels. When God blew into thee the breath of life and thy face and likeness was made in the image of God, Michael also brought thee and made (us) worship thee in the sight of God; and God the Lord spake: Here is Adam. I have made thee in our image and likeness.’ And Michael went out and called all the angels saying: ‘Worship the image of God as the Lord God hath commanded.’ And Michael himself worshipped first; then he called me and said: ‘Worship the image of God the Lord.’ And I answered, ‘I have no (need) to worship Adam.’ And since Michael kept urging me to worship, I said to him, ‘Why dost thou urge me? I will not worship an inferior and younger being (than I). I am his senior in the Creation, before he was made was I already made. It is his duty to worship me.’ When the angels, who were under me, heard this, they refused to worship him. And Michael saith, ‘Worship the image of God, but if thou wilt not worship him, the Lord God will be wrath with thee.’ And I said, ‘If He be wrath with me, I will set my seat above the stars of heaven and will be like the Highest.’ And God the Lord was wrath with me and banished me and my angels from our glory; and on thy account were we expelled from our abodes into this world and hurled on the earth. And straightway we were overcome with grief, since we had been spoiled of so great glory. And we were grieved when we saw thee in such joy and luxury. And with guile I cheated thy wife and caused thee to be expelled through her (doing) from thy joy and luxury, as I have been driven out of my glory. (The Life of Adam and Eve, Latin Version http://wesley.nnu.edu/sermons-essays-books/noncanonical-literature/noncanonical-literature-ot-pseudepigrapha/the-books-of-adam-and-eve/; bold and italicized emphasis ours)

Note the reason given here for God demanding all of the angels to worship the first man: Adam is the image of God in whom God breathed his breath of life, which is quite similar to what the Islamic sources teach.

Yet here is where the dilemma lies for the Muslims. Since the Quran likens Jesus to Adam, and since the Islamic sources attest that Jesus is God’s Word and Spirit who became flesh,

O ye people of the Book! do not exceed in your religion, nor say against God aught save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, is but the apostle of God and His Word, which He cast into Mary and a spirit from Him; believe then in God and His apostles, and say not ‘Three.’ Have done! it were better for you. God is only one God, celebrated be His praise that He should beget a Son! His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth; and God sufficeth for a guardian. S. 4:171 Palmer

Whose physical body and pure human nature was created by the Spirit of Allah in the blessed womb of Jesus’ virgin mother,

And Mary, daughter of Imran, who guarded her private parts, and we breathed therein of our spirit and she verified the words of her Lord and His books, and was of the devout. S. 66:12 Palmer

And who shall physically descend from heaven to rule the world as a righteous judge,

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established until the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler, he will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the Jizya tax. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it (as charitable gifts). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 43, Number 656 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=43&translator=1&start=0&number=656)

(And he shall be a sign for (the coming of) the Hour.) means, sign and “One of the signs of the Hour will be the appearance of `Isa son of Maryam before the Day of Resurrection. ” Something similar was also narrated from Abu Hurayrah, Ibn `Abbas, `Abu Al-`Aliyah, Abu Malik, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and others. Many Mutawatir Hadiths report that the Messenger of Allah said that `Isa will descend before the Day of Resurrection as a just ruler and fair judge. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 43:61 http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2076&Itemid=99; bold and underline emphasis ours)

This means that he is even more deserving of being worshiped and not just by the angels, but by all creation. After all, if a finite, imperfect creature who fell from grace and whose sin brought great pain and misery to all humanity,

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah’s Apostle said, “Adam and Moses met, and Moses said to Adam “You are the one who made people MISERABLE and turned them out of Paradise.” Adam said to him, “You are the one whom Allah selected for His message and whom He selected for Himself and upon whom He revealed the Torah.” Moses said, ‘Yes.’ Adam said, “Did you find that written in my fate before my creation?’ Moses said, ‘Yes.’ So Adam overcame Moses with this argument.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 260 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=260)

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, “Moses argued with Adam and said to him (Adam), ‘You are the one who got the people out of Paradise by your sin, AND THUS MADE THEM MISERABLE.’ Adam replied, ‘O Moses! You are the one whom Allah selected for His Message and for His direct talk. Yet you blame me for a thing which Allah had ordained for me before He created me?’” Allah’s Apostle further said, “So Adam overcame Moses by this Argument.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 262)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu’z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah said, “Adam and Musa argued and Adam got the better of Musa. Musa rebuked Adam, ‘You are Adam WHO LED PEOPLE ASTRAY and brought them out of the Garden.’ Adam said to him, ‘You are Musa to whom Allah gave knowledge of everything and whom he chose above people with His message.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Do you then censure me for a matter WHICH WAS DECREED FOR ME BEFORE I WAS CREATED?‘” (Malik’s Muwatta, Book 46, Number 46.1.1 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=46&translator=4&start=0&number=46.1.1)

Could be worthy of the worship of angels then how much more is Jesus Christ worthy of being worshiped when even the Islamic sources describe him as the sinless virgin born Son of Mary, and the eternal Word and Spirit of God that became flesh?

In fact, the inspired Christian Scriptures proclaim that Jesus is the true image of God and divine Son by and for whom all things were created, being the One who reigns over all creation, and whom all creatures are expected (in fact, commanded) to worship:

“The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

“Therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:13-18

God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the world. He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He was made so much better than the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He at any time say: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father’? Or again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me’? And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’ Of the angels He says: ‘He makes His angels spirits, and His servants a flame of fire.’ But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, lasts forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’ And, ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the works of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they all will wear out like a garment; as a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not end.’ But to which of the angels did He at any time say: ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool’?” Hebrews 1:1-13

“and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6

“When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints. And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests unto our God; and we shall reign on the earth.’ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voices of many angels, numbering ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’ Then I heard EVERY CREATURE which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea, AND ALL THAT ARE IN THEM, saying: ‘To Him who sits on the throne AND TO THE LAMB be blessing and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!’ The four living creatures said, ‘Amen.’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped Him who lives forever and ever.” Revelation 5:8-14

Thus, by claiming that Jesus is like Adam the Quran ends up confirming (albeit inadvertently and unintentionally) that Christians are right in worshiping the risen Christ since he is the Last Adam who undoes all the damage and misery which the first man brought into the world (cf. Romans 5:15-21; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 45-49).

More Prophetic Hints of the Messiah’s Deity

The Hebrew Bible describes God as bearing the sins of his people:

“And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,keeping mercy for thousands, BEARING iniquity and transgression and sin (nose’ awon wapesha wahatta’ah), and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6-7

“And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, BEARING iniquity and transgression (nose’ awon wapasha), and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.” Numbers 14:17-18

“Blessed is he whose transgression is lifted up (nasui), whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile… I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou BEAREST (nasata) the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:1-2, 5

“Who is a God like You, bearing (nose’) iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not remain angry forever, because He delights in benevolence. He will again have compassion upon us. He will tread down our iniquities, and cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18-19 Modern English (MEV)

The Hebrew words nose’ and nasa can mean to lift up, to carry, to bear, to bear away, to convey, to remove to a distance, to forgive. Note, for example, how nasa is used in Leviticus 16:22, which is the chapter dealing with the “Day of Atonement” (Yom Kipporim), the day that the high priest would make atonement for the entire nation of Israel:

“The goat shall bearall their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.”

Nasa is also employed in respect to the Servant spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, the One appointed to give his life up as a guilt offering in order to atone for the sins of the world:

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form or majesty that we should look upon him nor appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne (nasa) our grief and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was struck. His grave was assigned with the wicked, yet with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; He has put him to grief. If he made himself as an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, and the good pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the anguish of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge My righteous servant shall justify the many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, thus he bore (nasa) the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:1-12 MEV

What makes this particular Servant a rather remarkable individual is that he does what Isaiah says only Yahweh God is capable of doing. For instance, only Yahweh is able to declare or make sinners righteous and save the entire inhabited earth:

“Declare and set forth your case; let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient times? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no God besides Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is no other besides Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Surely, one shall say, ‘ONLY in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men shall come to him, and all who are incensed at Him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory.” Isaiah 45:21-25 MEV

This is because there is no one worthy or good enough to intercede or save mankind from their sins. As such, Yahweh was left with no other choice but to personally justify and redeem sinners by his own righteous Arm:

“Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was NO MAN and was astonished that there was NO INTERCESSOR; therefore, HIS OWN ARM brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay: fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands He will make recompense.” Isaiah 59:15b-18

“‘Who is this who comes from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? This one who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?’ ‘It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.’ ‘Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like him who treads in the wine vat?’ ‘I have trodden the winepress ALONE; and from the peoples there was NO ONE with Me. For I will tread them in My anger, and trample them in My fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and My year of redemption has come. I looked and there was NO ONE to help, and I was astonished, and there was NO ONE to uphold; therefore, MY OWN ARM brought salvation to Me; and My fury upheld Me. I will tread down the peoples in My anger and make them drunk in My fury, and I will pour out their lifeblood on the earth.’” Isaiah 63:1-6 MEV

This means that Yahweh’s Servant is no mere creature, but must be essentially one with God, which is why he is able to bear the sins of the nations and accomplish the salvation of the whole world. This is further confirmed by the fact that Isaiah describes the exaltation of the Servant,

“Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.” Isaiah 52:13-15 New International Version (NIV)

In the same exact language that the prophet uses elsewhere to depict Yahweh’s exalted status over the entire creation,

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. One cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.’ The posts of the door moved at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.’” Isaiah 6:1-5

“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15 MEV – cf. 33:5, 10

Which is a position that the true God does not share with anyone:

“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD ALONE shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of Hosts shall be upon everything that is proud and lofty, and upon everything that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low; and it will be upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon all the high towers, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant sloops. The loftiness of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD ALONE will be exalted in that day;” Isaiah 2:11-17 MEV

“Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord—that you ALONE are the Most Highover all the earth.” Psalm 83:18 NIV

“Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high, who looks down on the things that are in heaven and on the earth?” Psalm 113:5-6 MEV

It’s now beginning to make sense. The Servant is Yahweh God incarnate, the God who became man for the express purpose of bearing the sins of the world by offering his human soul/life as a vicarious sacrifice.

And according to the inspired Christian Scriptures, that God-Man is none other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth, being the eternal Son and Word of the Father who became flesh, so as to die a horrendously painful and shameful death on the cross in order to bear the transgressions of the world:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people… The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him… And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”’)… No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14, 18 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who bears (airon) the sin of the world.’” John 1:29

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell, and to reconcile all things to Himself by Him, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him, I say—whether they are things in earth, or things in heaven” Colossians 1:13-20 MEV

“At the same time we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.He gave himself for us in order to rescue us from every kind of lawless behavior, and cleanse a special people for himself who are eager to do good actions.” Common English Bible (CEB)

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’… But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.’ And, ‘In the beginning, Lord [the Son], you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:1-3, 6, 8-12

“so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to save those who eagerly wait for Him.” Hebrews 9:28 MEV

“For to this you were called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.’ When He was reviled, He did not revile back; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but He entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously. He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. ‘By His wounds you were healed.’ For you were as sheep going astray, but now have been returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21-25 MEV

“And ye know that he was manifested to bear (are’) sins; and in him is no sin.” 1 John 3:5

Contrary to William’s assertion, the Islamic scripture does not confine this act of worship to the Muslim deity since the Quran in several places has Allah commanding all the angels to prostrate themselves to Adam, with the Muslim god then condemning Satan to hell for refusing to do so:

And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves (osjudoo) before Adam, they fell prostrate (fa’asjadoo), all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever. S. 2:30 Pickthall

When thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to create a mortal out of mire, And when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down before him prostrate (sajideena), The angels fell down prostrate, every one, Saving Iblis; he was scornful and became one of the disbelievers. He said: O Iblis! What hindereth thee from falling prostrate (tasjuda) before that which I have created with both My hands? Art thou too proud or art thou of the high exalted? He said: I am better than him. Thou createdst me of fire, whilst him Thou didst create of clay. He said: Go forth from hence, for lo! thou art outcast, And lo! My curse is on thee till the Day of Judgment. He said: My Lord! Reprieve me till the day when they are raised. He said: Lo! thou art of those reprieved Until the day of the time appointed. He said: Then, by Thy might, I surely will beguile them every one, Save Thy single-minded slaves among them. He said: The Truth is, and the Truth I speak, That I shall fill hell with thee and with such of them as follow thee, together. S. 38:71-85 Pickthall

The Quran also mentions how Joseph’s brothers and parents were basically made to prostrate to Joseph:

Behold! Joseph said to his father: “O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves (sajideena) to me!” Said (the father): “My (dear) little son! relate not thy vision to thy brothers, lest they concoct a plot against thee: for Satan is to man an avowed enemy! S. 12:4-5 Y. Ali

And he raised his parents high on the throne (of dignity), and they fell down in prostration (sujjadan), (all) before him. He said: “O my father! this is the fulfilment of my vision of old! God hath made it come true! He was indeed good to me when He took me out of prison and brought you (all here) out of the desert, (even) after Satan had sown enmity between me and my brothers. Verily my Lord understandeth best the mysteries of all that He planneth to do, for verily He is full of knowledge and wisdom. S. 12:100 Y. Ali

In all these cases, the Islamic deity commanded and even compelled his servants to give to their fellow creatures the same worship that Allah himself receives:

And the wizards fell down prostrate (sajideena), Crying: We believe in the Lord of the Worlds, The Lord of Moses and Aaron. S. 7:120-122 Pickthall

O ye who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves (wa’osjudoo), and worship your Lord, and do good, that haply ye may prosper. S. 22:77 Pickthall

And when it is said to them: “Prostrate (osjudoo) to the Most Beneficent (Allah)! They say: “And what is the Most Beneficent? Shall we fall down in prostration (anasjudu) to that which you (O Muhammad) command us?” And it increases in them only aversion. S. 25:60 Hilali-Khan

And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate (tasjudu) not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate (wa’osjudoo) to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him. S. 41:37 Hilali-Khan

That’s not all. According to certain narrations deemed to be authentic, Muhammad instructed a blind man to supplicate both himself and Allah together in order to have his invocation granted:

3578. ‘Uthman bin Hunaif narrated that a blind man came to the Prophet and said to him: “Supplicate to Allah to heal me.” He said: “If you wish, I will supplicate for you, and if you wish, you can be patient, for that is better for you.” He said: “Then supplicate to him.” He said: “So he ordered him to perform Wudu’ and to make his Wudu’ complete, and to supplicate with this supplication: ‘O Allah, I ask You and turn towards You by Your Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. Indeed, I have turned to my Lord, BY MEANS OF YOU, concerning this need of mine, so that it can be resolved, So Allah so accept HIS INTERCESSION for me (Allahumma Inni As’aluka WA MUHAMMADIN Nabi-Ir-Rahmati Tawajjahtu Bika Ila Rabbi Fi Hajati Hadhihi Lituqda Li, Allahumma FASHAFFI‘HU Fiya).’” (SAHIH)

[He said]: This Hadith is Hasan SAHIH Gharib, we do not know of it except through this route, as a narration of Abu Ja‘far, and he is someone other than Al-Khatmi, [and Uthman bin Hunaif is the brother of Sahl bin Hunaif] (English Translation of Jami‘ At-Tirmidhi: Compiled by Imam Hafiz Abu ‘Eisa Mohammad Ibn ‘Eisa At-Tirmidhi, translated by Abu Khaliyl (USA), ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, First Edition: November 2007], Volume 6, From Hadith No. 3291 to 3956, Various Narrations On The Chapters Of Supplications, Chapter 118, p. 283 – Online version https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/48/209; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Here is a different version of this same hadith:

1385. It was narrated from ‘Uthman bin Hunaif that a blind man came to the Prophet and said to him: “Pray to Allah to heal me.” He said: “If you wish to store your reward for the Hereafter, that is better, or if you wish, I will supplicate for you.” He said: “Supplicate.” He said: “So he told him to perform ablution and do it well, and to pray two Rak’ah, and to say this supplication: “Allahumma inni as’aluka wa atawajjahu ilaika BI-MUHAMMADIN NABIYYIR-RAHMA.YA MUHAMMADU inni qad tawajjahtu bika ila rabbi fi hajati hadhihi Lituqda. Allahumma FASHAFFI‘HU fiya (O Allah, I ask of You and I turn my face towards You BY VIRTUE OF THE INTERCESSION OF MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF MERCY. O MUHAMMAD, I have turned to my Lord BY VIRTUE OF YOUR INTERCESSION concerning this need of mine, so that it may be met. O Allah, accept HIS INTERCESSION concerning me)”. (SAHIH) (English Translation of Sunan Ibn Majah: Compiled by Imam Muhammad Bin Yazeed Ibn Majah Al-Qazwini, Ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), final review by Abu Khaliyl (USA) [Darussalam Publications and Distributors, First Edition: June 2007], Volume 2, From Hadith no. 803 to 1782, 5. The Chapters Of Establishing The Prayer And The Sunnah Regarding Them, Chapter 189. What Was Narrated Concerning Prayer At Times Of Need, pp. 329-330 – Online Version https://sunnah.com/urn/1287330; capital and underline emphasis ours)

What makes this prayer rather troubling is that Muslims continued to employ this invocation long after Muhammad’s death:

THE HADITH OF THE MAN IN NEED

Moreover, Tabarani, in his “al-Mu’jam al saghir,” reports a hadith from ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf that a man repeatedly visited Uthman ibn Affan concerning something he needed, but Uthman paid no attention to him or his need. The man met Ibn Hunayf and complained to him about the matter – this being after the death (wisal) of the Prophet and after the caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar – so Uthman ibn Hunayf, who was one of the Companions who collected hadiths and was learned in the religion of Allah, said: “Go to the place of ablution and perform ablution (wudu), then come to the mosque, perform two rak’as of prayer therein, and say:

‘O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy; O MUHAMMAD (Ya Muhammad), I turn through you to my Lord, that He may fulfill my need,’ and mention your need. Then come so that I can go with you [to the caliph Uthman].” So the man left and did as he had been told, then went to the door of Uthman ibn Affan, and the doorman came, took him by the hand, brought him to Uthman ibn Affan, and seated him next to him on a cushion. ‘Uthman asked, “What do you need?” and the man mentioned what he wanted, and Uthman accomplished it for him, then he said, “I hadn’t remembered your need until just now,” adding, “Whenever you need something, just mention it.” Then, the man departed, met Uthman ibn Hunayf, and said to him, “May Allah reward you! He didn’t see to my need or pay any attention to me until you spoke with him.” Uthman ibn Hunayf replied, “By Allah, I didn’t speak to him, but I have seen a blind man come to the Messenger of Allah and complain to him of the loss of his eyesight. The Prophet said, “Can you not bear it?’ and the man replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I do not have anyone to lead me around, and it is a great hardship for me.’ The Prophet told him, ‘Go to the place of ablution and perform ablution (wudu), then pray two rak’as of prayer and make the supplications.'” Ibn Hunayf went on, “By Allah, we didn’t part company or speak long before the man returned to us as if nothing had ever been wrong with him.”

Here we have an individual at the time of the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan, over 20 twenty years after Muhammad’s death, offering up the same invocation that the blind man did, a prayer where the man had to speak directly to his deceased prophet and his god.

This means that the Muslim in question was guilty of contacting the dead,

Verily, you (O Muhammad) will die and verily, they (too) will die. S. 39:30 Hilali-Khan

3467. It is related from ‘A’isha, the wife of the Prophet, that the Messenger of Allah died while Abu Bakr was at as-Sunh. (Isma’il says that it means at al-‘Aliyya). ‘Umar stood up saying, ‘By Allah, the Messenger of Allah has not died!'” She said, ”Umar said [later], ‘By Allah, nothing occurred to me but that.” [He said], ‘Allah will raise him and he will cut off the hands and feet of some men!’ Abu Bakr came and uncovered the Messenger of Allah and kissed him. He said, ‘May my mother and my father be sacrificed! You were good both alive and dead! By the One who has my soul in His hand, Allah will not ever make you taste two deaths. ‘ Then he went out and said, ‘O oath-taker, take it easy!’ When Abu Bakr spoke, ‘Umar sat down. Abu Bakr praised Allah and glorified Him and then said, ‘Whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. Whoever worshipped Allah, Allah is alive and does not die.’ He said, ‘You will die and they too will die.’ (39:30) He said, ‘Muhammad is only a Messenger and he has been preceded by other Messengers. If he was to die or be killed, would you turn on your heels? Those who turn on their heels do not harm Allah in any way. Allah will recompense the thankful.’ (3:144) The people sobbed and wept.” (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 66. Book of the Virtues of the Companions http://bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari28.html#companions; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Something expressly condemned in God’s Word, the Holy Bible:

“When you enter into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you must not learn to practice the abominations of those nations. There must not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or who uses divination, or uses witchcraft, or an interpreter of omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or a spiritualist, or an occultist, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God will drive them out from before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations, which you shall possess, listened to soothsayers and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.” Deuteronomy 18:9-14

“When they say to you, ‘Seek after the mediums and the wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek after their God? Should they consult the dead for the living?To the law and to the testimony; if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:19-20

That’s not the only problem facing Williams since the Islamic sources expressly teach that invocation is the very heart of worship,

296. The excellence of supplication

712. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said, “Nothing is dearer to Allah than supplication.”

3828. It was narrated from Nu‘man bin Bashir that the Messenger of Allah said: “Indeed the supplication IS THE WORSHIP.” Then he recited: “And your Lord said: Invoke Me, I will respond to you.”[1](SAHIH) (English Translation of Sunan Ibn Majah, Volume 5. From Hadith No. 3657 to 4341, 34. The Chapter On Supplication, Chapter 1. The Virtue of Supplication, p. 95 – cf. Online Version https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah/34/2; capital and underline emphasis ours)

[1]Ghafir 40:60. (Ibid.)

And therefore must be rendered to God alone:

You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). S. 1:5 Hilali-Khan

Say. Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; S. 6:162 Shakir

Thus, by teaching his followers to pray to him directly Muhammad turned himself into a god alongside the Muslim deity. Muhammad essentially made himself a partner with his deity by receiving the very worship, which is supposed to be for God alone. And in so doing, Muhammad is responsible for causing his followers to become idolaters and blasphemers for worshiping a creature alongside their supposed creator.

Postscript

Williams’ woes are far from over. The Quran’s story of Allah ordering his angelic creatures to worship Adam, with Satan refusing to do so, is taken from non-canonical, uninspired Jewish and Christian sources, such as the apocryphal work known as The Life of Adam and Eve:

And with a heavy sigh, the devil spake: ‘O Adam! all my hostility, envy, and sorrow is for thee, since it is for thee that I have been expelled from my glory, which I possessed in the heavens in the midst of the angels and for thee was I cast out in the earth.’ Adam answered, ‘What dost thou tell me? What have I done to thee or what is my fault against thee? Seeing that thou hast received no harm or injury from us, why dost thou pursue us?’ The devil replied, ‘Adam, what dost thou tell me? It is for thy sake that I have been hurled from that place. When thou wast formed. I was hurled out of the presence of God and banished from the company of the angels. When God blew into thee the breath of life and thy face and likeness was made in the image of God, Michael also brought thee and made (us) worship thee in the sight of God; and God the Lord spake: Here is Adam. I have made thee in our image and likeness.’ And Michael went out and called all the angels saying: ‘Worship the image of God as the Lord God hath commanded.’ And Michael himself worshipped first; then he called me and said: ‘Worship the image of God the Lord.’ And I answered, ‘I have no (need) to worship Adam.’ And since Michael kept urging me to worship, I said to him, ‘Why dost thou urge me? I will not worship an inferior and younger being (than I). I am his senior in the Creation, before he was made was I already made. It is his duty to worship me.’ When the angels, who were under me, heard this, they refused to worship him. And Michael saith, ‘Worship the image of God, but if thou wilt not worship him, the Lord God will be wrath with thee.’ And I said, ‘If He be wrath with me, I will set my seat above the stars of heaven and will be like the Highest.’ And God the Lord was wrath with me and banished me and my angels from our glory; and on thy account were we expelled from our abodes into this world and hurled on the earth. And straightway we were overcome with grief, since we had been spoiled of so great glory. And we were grieved when we saw thee in such joy and luxury. And with guile I cheated thy wife and caused thee to be expelled through her (doing) from thy joy and luxury, as I have been driven out of my glory. (The Life of Adam and Eve, Latin Version http://wesley.nnu.edu/sermons-essays-books/noncanonical-literature/noncanonical-literature-ot-pseudepigrapha/the-books-of-adam-and-eve/; bold and italicized emphasis ours)

Williams is fully aware of this fact since he was so greatly troubled by it that he sought out a Muslim “scholar” to explain to him why the Quran would include this fairy tale:

Wa-alaykum as-salam.

Well, I imagine that since some of the Quran’s truths appear in earlier literature, including the Bible, whose sources are in most cases lost, it is reasonable to suppose that this kind of apocryphal writing contains material that was handed down from some earlier genuinely prophetic document, which otherwise is no longer extant. Perhaps the original Torah contained it? It can be no more than speculation.

Best wishes, Abdal Hakim…

Salam I’m reading J. R. Daniel Kirk’s A Man Attested by God and he discusses (on p. 73) the Life of Adam and Eve (a Jewish pseudepigraphical writing). It tells of how God commanded the angels to bow down and worship Adam and the devil’s resistance to this on the grounds that he is prior and superior to the human.

There are some similarities with the Quranic account in Qur’an 7:11-18 and elsewhere.

In the first place, both the Quran and ahadith confirm that the previous Scriptures such as the Torah remain in their true, pristine form since they have never been lost or corrupted beyond restoration. The Muslim scripture further testifies that an important aspect of Muhammad’s mission was to affirm the authority, reliability and inspiration of the very sacred writings, which the Jews and Christians possessed at his time:

Children of Israel, remember My blessing wherewith I blessed you, and fulfil My covenant and I shall fulfil your covenant; and have awe of Me. And believe in that I have sent down, confirming that which is WITH YOU, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And sell not My signs for a little price; and fear you Me. And do not confound the truth with vanity, and do not conceal the truth wittingly. And perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and bow with those that bow. Will you bid others to piety, and forget yourselves while you recite the Book? Do you not understand? S. 2:40-44 Arberry

And when there cometh unto them a scripture from Allah, confirming that IN THEIR POSSESSION – though before that they were asking for a signal triumph over those who disbelieved – and when there cometh unto them that which they know (to be the truth) they disbelieve therein. The curse of Allah is on disbelievers. S. 2:89 Pickthall

And when they were told, ‘Believe in that God has sent down,’ they said, ‘We believe in what was sent down on us’; and they disbelieve in what is beyond that, yet it is the truth confirming what is WITH THEM. Say: ‘Why then were you slaying the Prophets of God in former time, if you were believers?’ S. 2:91 Arberry

Say: ‘Whosoever is an enemy to Gabriel — he it was that brought it down upon thy heart by the leave of God, confirming what was before it, and for a guidance and good tidings to the believers. S. 2:97 Arberry

And when there cometh unto them a messenger from Allah, confirming that which THEY POSSESS, a party of those who have received the Scripture fling the Scripture of Allah behind their backs as if they knew not, S. 2:101 Pickthall

He has sent down upon thee the Book with the truth, confirming what was before it, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel aforetime, as guidance to the people, and He sent down the Salvation. As for those who disbelieve in God’s signs, for them awaits a terrible chastisement; God is All-mighty, Vengeful. S. 3:3-4 Arberry

And He will teach him the Book, the Wisdom, the Torah… confirming the truth of the Torah that is before me, and to make lawful to you certain things that before were forbidden unto you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; so fear you God, and obey you me. S. 3:48, 50 Arberry

You who have been given the Book, believe in what We have sent down, confirming what is WITH YOU, before We obliterate faces, and turn them upon their backs, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-men, and God’s command is done. S. 4:47 Arberry

Yet how will they make thee their judge seeing THEY HAVE the Torah, wherein is God’s judgment, then thereafter turn their backs? They are not believers. Surely We sent down the Torah, wherein is guidance and light; thereby the Prophets who had surrendered themselves gave judgment for those of Jewry, as did the masters and the rabbis, following such portion of God’s Book as they were given to keep and were witnesses to. So fear not men, but fear you Me; and sell not My signs for a little price. Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down – they are the unbelievers. And therein We prescribed for them: ‘A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds retaliation’; but whosoever forgoes it as a freewill offering, that shall be for him an expiation. Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down — they are the evildoers. And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus son of Mary, confirming the Torah before him and We gave to him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and light, and confirming the Torah before it, as a guidance and an admonition unto the godfearing. So let the People of the Gospel judge according to what God has sent down therein. Whosoever judges not according to what God has sent down — they are the ungodly. And We have sent down to thee the Book with the truth, confirming the Book that was before it, and assuring it. So judge between them according to what God has sent down, and do not follow their caprices, to forsake the truth that has come to thee. To every one of you We have appointed a right way and an open road. If God had willed, He would have made you one nation; but that He may try you in what has come to you. So be you forward in good works; unto God shall you return, all together; and He will tell you of that whereon you were at variance. S. 5:43-48 Arberry

Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) WITH THEM… S. 7:157 Pickthall

This Koran could not have been forged apart from God; but it is a confirmation of what IS before it, and a distinguishing of the Book, wherein is no doubt, from the Lord of all Being. S. 10:37 Arberry

In their history verily there is a lesson for men of understanding. It is no invented story but a confirmation of the existing (Scripture) and a detailed explanation of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for folk who believe. S. 12:111 Pickthall

We verily gave Moses the Scripture; so be not ye in doubt of his receiving it; and We appointed it a guidance for the Children of Israel. S. 32:23 Pickthall

They addressed (their nation thus): “O our nation! Verily we, we have listened to the Book, made to descend after Musa, being one that is a confirmation to that what is between its two hands (i.e., what had been already there as Allah’s Scripture). It guides towards the truth and towards the permanent Path. S. 46:30 Dr. Kamal Omar

The Quran further sees itself as an Arabic version of the Torah for Arabic-speaking peoples who could not read the former revelations for themselves in their original languages:

And this is a blessed Scripture which We have revealed. So follow it and ward off (evil), that ye may find mercy. Lest ye should say: The Scripture was revealed only to two sects before us, and we in sooth were unaware of what they read; Or lest ye should say: If the Scripture had been revealed unto us, we surely had been better guided than are they. Now hath there come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, a guidance and mercy; and who doeth greater wrong than he who denieth the revelations of Allah, and turneth away from them? We award unto those who turn away from Our revelations an evil doom because of their aversion. S. 6:155-157 Pickthall

Prior to this, the book of Musa was the guide and mercy. This book, (the Qur´an) is in the Arabic language and it confirms and validates (the book of Musa). It warns those committing evil, and gives the good news to the righteous. S. 46:12 Dr. Munir Mushey

Muhammad even warned that Allah would torture a person in a very sadistic and a cruel manner if s/he had the audacity to reject the scriptures given through the previous messengers:

Those who cry lies to the Book and that wherewith We sent Our Messengers — soon they will know! When the fetters and chains are on their necks, and they dragged into the boiling water, then into the Fire they are poured; S. 40:70-72 Arberry

The above data help explain the respect that Muhammad showed to a copy of the Torah that the Jews presented to him, which he then employed to decide a matter for them:

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Umar:

A group of Jews came and invited the Messenger of Allah to Quff. So he visited them in their school. They said: AbulQasim, one of our men has committed fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgment upon them. They placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah who sat on it and said: Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed in thee and in Him Who revealed thee.

He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you. Then a young man was brought. The transmitter then mentioned the rest of the tradition of stoning similar to the one transmitted by Malik from Nafi'(No. 4431).

Now does this sound like a man who believed that the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians were corrupted or that some of their contents had been lost?

This now brings me to my next point. Muhammad believed that the Torah, or the book given to Moses, is a perfect guidance that provides a clear explanation for all the things that it covers:

Again, We gave the Scripture unto Moses, COMPLETE for him who would do good, AN EXPLANATION OF ALL THINGS, a guidance and a mercy, that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. S. 6:154-157 Pickthall

He said: O Moses! I have preferred thee above mankind by My messages and by My speaking (unto thee). So hold that which I have given thee, and be among the thankful. And We wrote for him, upon the tablets, the lesson to be drawn from all thingsAND THE EXPLANATION OF ALL THINGS, then (bade him): Hold it fast; and command thy people (saying): Take the better (course made clear) therein. I shall show thee the abode of evil-livers. S. 7:144-145 Pickthall

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: There was an argument between Adam and Moses (peace be upon both of them) in the presence of their Lord. Adam came the better of Moses. Moses said: Are you that Adam whom Allah created with His Hand and breathed into him His spirit, and commanded angels to fall in prostration before him and He made you live in Paradise with comfort and ease. Then you caused the people to get down to the earth because of your lapse. Adam said: Are you that Moses whom Allah selected for His Messengership and for His conversation with him and conferred upon you THE TABLETS, IN WHICH EVERYTHING WAS CLEARLY EXPLAINED and granted you the audience in order to have confidential talk with you. What is your opinion, how long Torah would have been written before I was created? Moses said: Forty years before. Adam said: Did you not see these words: Adam committed an error and he was enticed to (do so). He (Moses) said: Yes. Whereupon, he (Adam) said: Do you then blame me for an act which Allah had ordained for me forty years before He created me? Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: This is how Adam came the better of Moses. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6411 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=033&translator=2&start=0&number=6411)

As such, we would expect to find this story of God commanding the angels to worship Adam, with Satan refusing to do so, in the Torah, specifically in Genesis, since that is where the story of Adam’s creation is found. The fact that the Torah does not mention this event confirms that this is nothing more than a fable, a fairy tale, which Muhammad “borrowed” and passed off as historical fact.

According to the Quran, Jesus is the physical seed of Noah and Abraham even though he had no physical father:

That is Our argument, which We bestowed upon Abraham as against his people. We raise up in degrees whom We will; surely thy Lord is All-wise, All-knowing. And We gave to him Isaac and Jacob — each one We guided, And Noah We guided before; and of HIS seed David and Solomon, Job and Joseph, Moses and Aaron — even so We recompense the good-doers — Zachariah and John, JESUS and Elias; each was of the righteous; Ishmael and Elisha, Jonah and Lot-each one We preferred above all beings; and of their fathers, and of their seed, and of their brethren; and We elected them, and We guided them to a straight path. S. 6:83-87 Arberry

This means that the Islamic scripture accepts that a person’s physical lineage can be traced through the female side. In fact, the Muslim scholars themselves readily acknowledged that Jesus was a descendant of David via his blessed mother, and hence of the tribe of Judah.

For instance, noted Muslim scholar and historian Al-Tabari linked Jesus’ mother to David, going as far as to “borrow” the genealogy of Joseph found in Matthew’s Gospel to do so!

“The Persians assert that sixty-five years after Alexander seized Babylonia, and fifty-one years after Arsacid rule began, Mary the daughter of ‘Imran gave birth to Jesus. But the Christians assert that Jesus was born to her 303 years after Alexander conquered Babylonia, and that John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus. They report that Mary was pregnant with Jesus when she was thirteen years old. They also report that Jesus lived thirty-two years and a few days before his ascension, and that Mary lived six more years after his ascension, altogether over fifty years. They assert that John and Jesus met in the Jordan River when Jesus was thirty years of age, and that John was slain before the ascension of Jesus. Zechariah b. Berechiah, the father of Yahya b. Zechariah, and ‘Imran b. Matthan, the father of Mary, were married to two sisters. One was married to Zechariah- she was the mother of John, the other was with ‘Imran b. Matthan, and she was the mother of Mary. ‘Imran b. Matthan died when the mother of Mary was pregnant with her. When Mary was born, Zechariah provided for her after her mother’s death, because her aunt, the sister of her mother, was with him. The name of Mary’s mother was Hanna bt. Faqud b. Qabil; the name of the sister of Mary’s mother, that is, the name of John’s mother was Elizabeth bt. Faqud. Zechariah provided for Mary, and she was engaged to Joseph b. Jacob b. Mathan b. Eleazar b. Eliud b. Achim b. Zadok b. Azor b. Eliakim b. Abiud b. Zerubbabel, b. Shealtiel b. Jechonia b. Josiah b. Amon b. Manasseh b. Hezekiah b. Ahaziah b. Jotham b. Uzziah b. Joram b. Jehosaphat b. Asa b. Abijah b. Rehoboam b. SOLOMON B. DAVID.

Notice al-Tabari’s use of specific traditions, which affirm that both Joseph ANDMary were descendants of King David.

The other classical Muslim scholars also held to this view:

“The Qur’an informs us that the father of Mary was named ‘Imran and the classical Muslim scholars UNANIMOUSLY ACCEPT that she was from the line of the prophet David… Differences of opinion emerge, however, over the intervening genealogy, most probably due to a lack of familiarity with such foreign names and consequent error in recording them in the Arabic orthography. According to the Spanish exegete al-Qurtubi, ‘All these differences are mentioned because the Prophets and Messengers are all descendants one of the other.’ The following genealogy (taking into account orthographic variations), which is attributed to Ibn Ishaq or directly to the Prophet’s companion Ibn ‘Abbas, is the most generally accepted:Mary bint ‘Imran ibn Yashim ibn Misha ibn Hazqiya ibn Yawish (ibn Isha ibn Yahushafat) IBN SULAYMAN IBN DAWUD… Although the name of her mother is not supplied in the Qur’an, it is universally accepted as Hanna bint Faqudh.” (Aliah Schleifer, Mary The Blessed Virgin of Islam, Fons Vitae; ISBN: 1887752021; July 1, 1998, pp. 22-23; bold and capital emphasis ours)

One such scholar was Ibn Kathir who had this to say in regards to Q. 19:16:

<And mention in the Book, Maryam,> She was Maryam bint `Imran from the family lineage of Dawud. She was from a good and wholesome family of the Children of Israel. Allah mentioned the story of her mother’s pregnancy with her in Surah Al `Imran, and that she (Maryam’s mother) dedicated her freely for the service of Allah. This meant that she dedicated the child (Maryam) to the service of the Masjid of the Sacred House (in Jerusalem). Thus, they (Zakariyya, Maryam’s mother and Maryam) were similar in that aspect. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir: http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2687&Itemid=75; bold emphasis ours)

And here is what he wrote concerning Q. 3:33:

Allah states that He has chosen these households over the people of the earth. For instance, Allah chose Adam, created him with His Hand and blew life into him. Allah commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam, taught him the names of everything and allowed him to dwell in Paradise, but then sent him down from it out of His wisdom. Allah chose Nuh and made him the first Messenger to the people of the earth, when the people worshipped idols and associated others with Allah in worship. Allah avenged the way Nuh was treated, for he kept calling his people day and night, in public and in secret, for a very long time. However, his calling them only made them shun him more, and this is when Nuh supplicated against them. So Allah caused them to drown, and none among them was saved, except those who followed the religion that Allah sent to Nuh. Allah also chose the household of Ibrahim, including the master of all mankind, and the Final Prophet, Muhammad. Allah also chose the household of `Imran, the father of Marym bint `Imran, the mother of `Isa, peace be upon them.SO `ISA IS FROM THE OFFSPRING OF IBRAHIM, as we will mention in the Tafsir of Surat Al-An`am, Allah willing, and our trust is in Him… (Ibid.: http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=547&Itemid=46; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Ironically, Ibn Kathir mentions specific Muslims that used the example of Jesus to prove that a man can trace his lineage through his mother!

“… Mentioning `Isa in the offspring of Ibrahim, or Nuh as we stated above, is proof that the grandchildren from a man’s daughter’s side are included among his offspring. `Isa is included among Ibrahim’s progeny through his mother, although `Isa did not have a father. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Harb bin Abi Al-Aswad said, ‘Al-Hajjaj sent to Yahya bin Ya`mar, saying, “I was told that you claim that Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein are from the offspring of the Prophet, did you find it in the Book of Allah? I read the Qur’an from beginning to end and did not find it.” Yahya said, “Do you not read in Surah Al-An`am…

Al-Hajjaj said, “Yes.” Yahya said, “Is not `Isa from the offspring of Ibrahim, although he did not have a father!” Al-Hajjaj said, “You have said the truth.”’ For example, when a man leaves behind a legacy, a trust, or gift to his ‘offspring’ then the children of his daughters are included. But if a man gives something to his ‘sons’, or he leaves a trust behind for them, then that would be particular to his male children and their male children…” (Ibid., Q. 6:84-90: http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=991&Itemid=61; bold emphasis ours)

The following Muslim scholars all concur that physical lineage can be traced through one’s mother:

Out of these seventeen prophets identified in the cited verses, Sayyidna Nuh is the patriarch of Sayyidna Ibrahim. The rest have been called their progeny: (and, of his progeny, to Dawud and Sulayman … ). This poses two difficulties. The first could be about Sayyidna ‘Isa who, because of his father-less birth, is a progeny of Sayyidna Ibrahim from the daughter’s side, that is, not a paternal grandson, instead, is a grand-son from the maternal side.

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